RTX 3060 12GB vs RTX 3070 8GB for Local LLMs
The RTX 3060 12GB holds bigger models (12.0 GB vs 8.0 GB), and the RTX 3070 8GB generates tokens about 24% faster. Below: speeds on seven popular models, the models only one card can run, and our verdict.
Specs that matter for AI
| RTX 3060 12GB | RTX 3070 8GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 12 GB | 8 GB |
| GPU-usable memory | 12.0 GB | 8.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 360 GB/s | 448 GB/s |
| Architecture | Ampere | Ampere |
| Released | 2021-02 | 2020-10 |
| Llama 3.1 8B Q4_K_M | ~43 tok/s | ~53 tok/s |
Speed and fit by model
Q4_K_M (or native format) with 8K context.
| Model | VRAM | RTX 3060 12GB | RTX 3070 8GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3.1 8B | 6.3 GB | Fits ~43 tok/s | Fits ~53 tok/s |
| Qwen 3 14B | 10.5 GB | Fits ~24 tok/s | 72% on GPU ~11 tok/s |
| gpt-oss-20b | 13.9 GB | 81% on GPU ~45 tok/s | 54% on GPU ~29 tok/s |
| Qwen 3 30B-A3B | 18.8 GB | 60% on GPU ~30 tok/s | 40% on GPU ~24 tok/s |
| Qwen 3 32B | 21.4 GB | 53% on GPU ~3.5 tok/s | 35% on GPU ~2.9 tok/s |
| Llama 3.3 70B | 43.2 GB | Too small | Too small |
| gpt-oss-120b | 62.0 GB | Too small | Too small |
Verdict
For local AI, the RTX 3060 12GB is the better card despite being slower in games. Its extra 4 GB is what lets 12–14B models such as Qwen 3 14B, Phi-4 and Gemma 3 12B run fully on the GPU; the 3070 has to offload them. On 7–8B models that fit both, the 3070 generates about 25% faster thanks to 448 vs 360 GB/s of bandwidth.
Which should you buy?
Choose the RTX 3060 12GB if…
- Local AI is your main use.
- You want to run 12–14B models.
- You also want room for FLUX with GGUF weights.
Choose the RTX 3070 8GB if…
- You mainly game and only run 7–8B models.
- You get it at a much lower price.
Best quality and longest context on each card
The highest-quality quantization that fits fully at 8K context, and the longest context that fits at Q4_K_M with an FP16 cache.
| Model | RTX 3060 12GB: best quant | RTX 3070 8GB: best quant | RTX 3060 12GB: max context | RTX 3070 8GB: max context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen 3.5 9B | Q8_0 | Q5_K_M | 164K | 44K |
| Qwen 3 14B | Q4_K_M | Q2_K | 13K | – |
| gpt-oss-20b | Q3_K_M | Does not fit | – | – |
| Qwen 3.6 27B | Q2_K | Does not fit | – | – |
| Qwen 3 32B | Does not fit | Does not fit | – | – |
| Llama 3.3 70B | Does not fit | Does not fit | – | – |
Image generation
Best weight precision for image models with model swapping, at each model's default resolution. Image generation is also limited by compute, so the card with more tensor-core throughput finishes each image faster even when both fit.
| Model | RTX 3060 12GB | RTX 3070 8GB |
|---|---|---|
| SDXL 1.0 | FP16 / BF16 | FP16 / BF16 |
| FLUX.1 [dev] | GGUF Q6_K | GGUF Q4_K_S / NF4 |
| Qwen-Image | Needs offloading | Needs offloading |
| Wan 2.2 A14B (T2V / I2V) | Needs offloading | Needs offloading |
Models only one card can run
Only RTX 3060 12GB
Only RTX 3070 8GB
None
Frequently asked questions
Is the RTX 3060 12GB or RTX 3070 8GB better for local LLMs?
For local AI, the RTX 3060 12GB is the better card despite being slower in games. Its extra 4 GB is what lets 12–14B models such as Qwen 3 14B, Phi-4 and Gemma 3 12B run fully on the GPU; the 3070 has to offload them. On 7–8B models that fit both, the 3070 generates about 25% faster thanks to 448 vs 360 GB/s of bandwidth.
Which is faster for LLM inference?
The RTX 3070 8GB, by about 24% for token generation on models that fit both (about 53 vs 43 tokens/s on Llama 3.1 8B Q4_K_M).
Which can run bigger models?
The RTX 3060 12GB, with 12.0 GB usable versus 8.0 GB.